new to subaru, not to retrofitting. I have a 1991 legacy wagon awd 2.2 non-turbo. 126,000 miles. the motor has excellent compression (190 psi all around) but the transmission (4eat) that had worked only in 1st and 3rd now has lost 3rd. I wanted to do the 5 speed swap but they appear to be too expensive.

My options are

 

5 speed from a known good but high milage 1992 loyale- is it even compatable

500 bucks

 

Rebuild the auto myself- who has done this and does is require any special equipment or tools

 

also how do i refer to my car I know its a bf chassis but is it considered an ea82?

 

Mine is not air suspension. Can I use the struts from a later model like 96-99 with little or no fabrication.

 

I've tried the search for a couple of days but just cant find stuff on these wagons. I understand the diffs have to match, right now I just need a low cost solution to get to school/work on.

 

thanks for your opinions and or suggestions, I am in texas if there are any enthusiasts here. AWD rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EA82 refers to cars with the EA82 engine. People don't refer to Legacy's as EJ22's though, its just a Legacy. Just give the MY and model (wagon, sedan) and most people know what your on about. Maybe even give the engine name (EJ18, EJ20t, EJ22).

 

To do a manual conversion I think you need the tailshaft, pedal box, shifter plate and linkages, full gearbox crossmember, flywheel and clutch. The ECU might not like having the auto TCU unplugged too, not sure.

 

The Loyal/EA82 gearboxes mostly aren't AWD and have a different bellhousing. It is possible to adapt an EJ engine to EA gearbox but it is a lot more fabricating to fit one in a EJ car.

 

Remember, most EJ cars are the same underneath. As in you can use any 5sp manual from any EJ car in your Legacy.

The fastest cheapest and easiest thing to do is replace the bad auto trans with a used one. It shouldn't cost more than a few hundred for a used trans.

 

96-99 struts should fit ok.

I think that there are some sensor difference between the early auto trannys and the later ones.

 

I had a friend with a 1999 outback and the tranny took a dump on him, I was able to source a auto tranny from a 1992 leg we were going to put in but I was told that the sensors and the wiring was different

 

Worth looking into.

 

Hop over to legacycentral.org and ask around.

 

BW

thank you for your input. I'm glad the struts will fit.

 

I had assumed through searching the forums that buying a used subaru automatic was bad idea because they are generally all close to gone by the time they get to the junk yards. If this is not true I would go get one and save the swap until I can get a newer donor car.

I had assumed through searching the forums that buying a used subaru automatic was bad idea because they are generally all close to gone by the time they get to the junk yards.

 

This is a misconception. Plenty of Automatic Subarus go to 250k+ miles without any trans problems. You hear about problem here alot because people come here when they have problems, not when everything is fine:rolleyes:

 

I'd find a used automatic, from a place that will give you a "working" warranty. 30 to 90 day or so.

 

Make sure to get the correct gear ratio trans, or get a matching rear end. You're car should be 3.9. A transmision from a 90-94 legacy should work or a 93-95 Impreza. Non outback Legacys 95-99 may work a well, and others.

 

You could go to 4.11 or 4.44 from a newer auto if you use the matching rear diff.

snag the TCU from the donor car as well... I did a swap on a 93 legacy.. put a 94 auto into it and the duty solenoid C would not get power (full 4wd bindingness) I swapped the TCU (plug and play) and all the problems were gone... It's located under the steering column where a ECU would be on a loyale.